If you were hoping for fireworks in Tuesday's premarket session, you came to the wrong place. U.S. stock futures spent the morning doing their best impression of indecision, swinging between tiny gains and tiny losses after Monday's modest selloff. The Santa Claus rally, which kicked off on December 24, seems to be experiencing what we might charitably call a "brief intermission."

Futures for the major benchmark indices were essentially flat. The Dow Jones futures inched up 0.01%, S&P 500 futures slipped 0.01%, and Nasdaq 100 futures also dropped 0.01%. The Russell 2000 showed slightly more enthusiasm with a 0.11% gain, but we're still talking about movement that barely registers on most charts.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices respectively, were marginally lower in premarket trading. SPY declined 0.0073% to $687.80, while QQQ fell 0.0081% to $620.82.

On the bond front, the 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.12%, with the two-year at 3.45%. Markets are pricing in an 83.9% probability that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady in January, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool. Translation: nobody expects the Fed to do much of anything next month.

Trump Takes Another Swing at Powell

President Donald Trump decided Monday was a good day to escalate his ongoing battle with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, threatening a lawsuit over alleged "gross incompetence." It's the kind of move that makes institutional investors nervous about central bank independence, particularly since Powell's term wraps up in 2026. Whether this is serious legal posturing or just another episode in the long-running Trump-versus-Powell drama remains to be seen, but it's certainly keeping markets on edge.

Investors face a quiet week for economic data, which might actually be a relief given recent volatility. Markets will be closed Thursday for New Year's Day, so expect trading volumes to remain light through the week.

Monday's Market Moves

Let's rewind to Monday's session, which saw the major indices retreat after the holiday weekend. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.50% to 23,474.35, the S&P 500 dropped 0.35% to 6,905.74, and the Dow Jones declined 0.51% to 48,461.93. The Russell 2000 pulled back 0.57% to 2,519.80.

Consumer discretionary, materials, and financials took the biggest hits, though energy and real estate stocks managed to buck the trend and close higher. It was one of those days where sector rotation mattered more than overall market direction.

Companies Making Headlines

TEN Holdings

TEN Holdings Inc. (XHLD) shares jumped 16.31% in premarket trading after the company announced a $2.25 million private placement of 991,000 shares priced at $2.27 per share. The stock maintains weaker price trends across short, medium, and long-term timeframes, according to market data.

Fonar

Fonar Corp. (FONR) surged 24.49% after announcing it signed a definitive agreement for a "take private" sale. That's the kind of move that gets shareholders excited, and the market responded accordingly. The stock maintains stronger price trends over short, medium, and long terms with moderate quality metrics.

Boeing

Boeing Co. (BA) gained 0.58% after the Pentagon awarded the aerospace giant an $8.6 billion contract for the F-15 Israel Program. When you're Boeing and you need good news, an eight-billion-dollar defense contract certainly qualifies. The stock maintains stronger price trends across all timeframes, showing continued momentum in the defense sector.

Dermata Therapeutics

Dermata Therapeutics Inc. (DRMA) rose 6.45% following news that it closed a $12.4 million private placement priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules. The biotech maintains weaker price trends over short, medium, and long-term periods, though the capital raise provides some runway for operations.

Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) climbed 1.36% as copper prices rocketed past a new record high of $12,000 during the week. When your business is digging copper out of the ground and copper prices are hitting all-time highs, that's about as straightforward a bull case as you'll find. The stock maintains stronger price trends over short, medium, and long terms with moderate value rankings.

What the Analysts Are Saying

Comerica Wealth Management is heading into 2026 with what they call "cautious optimism," forecasting a U.S. economy supported by three key growth drivers: infrastructure spending, AI adoption, and resilient consumer demand. It's the economic equivalent of a three-legged stool, assuming all three legs hold up.

The firm puts recession risks below 30%, but expects inflation to remain stubbornly above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. That's the tricky part about this economy—growth looks decent, but the inflation picture remains frustratingly sticky.

On the equity side, Comerica notes the market is entering its fourth consecutive year of a bull run with valuations that "appear stretched." Chief Investment Officer Eric Teal offered some literary advice, urging investors to "resist the temptation to follow the investing Toms and Daisys"—a reference to the careless excess of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1920s.

Instead, Comerica recommends defensive positioning. The firm advises clients to "stay prudent, avoid being overly aggressive and apply a bit of caution." In other words, when valuations look expensive and the market's been running hot for years, maybe don't go all-in on the riskiest assets you can find.

The firm suggests looking beyond tech giants, noting that small and micro-cap companies could outperform as interest rates fall. Opportunities also exist in "traditional value sectors like financials" that should benefit from a steeper yield curve. It's classic late-cycle positioning: rotate away from the high-flyers and into the boring stuff that might hold up better if things get choppy.

Economic Data on Deck

Tuesday brings a modest slate of economic releases. October's S&P Case-Shiller home price index for 20 cities drops at 9:00 a.m., December's Chicago Business Barometer (PMI) arrives at 9:45 a.m., and minutes from the Fed's December FOMC meeting get released at 2:00 p.m. ET. The Fed minutes should provide additional color on policymakers' thinking, though given recent speeches from Fed officials, don't expect major surprises.

Commodities, Crypto, and Global Markets

Crude oil futures were trading 0.50% higher in early New York trading, hovering around $58.37 per barrel. Gold Spot rose 0.88% to approximately $4,369.96 per ounce, still below its record high of $4,550.11 per ounce. The precious metal continues to attract safe-haven flows amid geopolitical uncertainty and concerns about monetary policy.

The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.07% lower at the 97.9710 level, showing minimal movement.

Bitcoin (BTC) was trading 0.53% lower at $87,671.07 per coin, continuing its recent consolidation after failing to sustain momentum above $90,000.

Asian markets closed mostly lower on Tuesday, with China's CSI 300 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng indices providing the notable exceptions. South Korea's Kospi, Australia's ASX 200, India's Nifty 50, and Japan's Nikkei 225 all declined. European markets traded higher in early sessions, suggesting at least some regional optimism heading into year-end.

With markets closed Thursday and many traders already mentally checked out for the holidays, expect continued light volume and choppy trading. The real action probably won't resume until everyone returns from their New Year's celebrations and starts positioning for 2026 in earnest. Until then, we're in that strange limbo period where futures can swing on minimal volume and headline risk remains elevated while liquidity stays thin.